


Written In The Sky

by Barbara_Lazuli



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:14:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23064541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barbara_Lazuli/pseuds/Barbara_Lazuli
Summary: Maren is ten when the fifth spirit returns to the Enchanted Forest. They don't know how she managed to get past the Mist. All they know is that a lost child of Northuldra has come back home, bringing with her her daughter, the fifth spirit."Does this mean we can be friends with the spirits again?" Ryder asks.Maren didn't think it was possible, but somehow Yelena's frown deepens. "I'm not sure. She's only a child. I don't think she can wake the other spirits yet.""Then can we be friends with her?" Maren asks. "She's just a kid like me, right?"(An AU where Elsa was brought to the Enchated Forest after accidentally hitting Anna with her magic. A Frozen sorta rewrite where things are sadder. Things are also gayer, so... rainbow linings.)
Relationships: Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Comments: 71
Kudos: 254





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be an ambitious rewrite of the whole franchise, and I'm honestly not sure if I'm skilled enough for that but I'll try my best. Writing's just for fun for me anyway. Hope you guys enjoy :)

Maren loves stories. Stories about men overcoming obstacles through bravery and good character, about creatures of myth wreaking havoc or causing mischief, and about the elemental spirits that reside the forest they call home. She isn't very fond of stories about what life was like before the Mist appeared, mostly because it just leaves her aching and yearning for the sky that she may never see. But her favorite story is about the elusive fifth spirit.

"There's the fire, earth, wind, and water spirit," her father tells them one night. "But did you know? Some say that there's a fifth spirit."

To her left, Ryder counts up to five with his fingers, brows knit together in thought. "What's the fifth spirit, then? Wood?"

"No one's sure. All that's known is that the fifth spirit is the bridge between humans and the spirits."

"But it's not here," Maren says. "Is that why the spirits don't show themselves anymore?"

Her father looks at her in that way that leaves her confused. She doesn't understand how a smile could look so sad.

"It's possible," is his only answer.

"How do we get it to come back?"

"There's a song meant to call it. When I was a child, we'd try to sing it and see if it'll come to us." He chuckles wistfully. "But all we got was the wind spirit tickling us with leaves."

"Can you teach it to us?" Ryder asks.

Maren bumps her shoulder with his, "You can't even sing, dummy."

Ryder pushes back. "Yes, I can!"

Their father rolls his eyes and pulls the twins into his lap. "There's no need to fight. I'll teach the song to you."

That night, when her father and brother have fallen asleep, Maren sneaks out of their goahti and heads to the clearing near the stream where she often plays. She sings the tune, over and over, but no one comes. She does it for weeks until she accepts what kind of story the fifth spirit is really from: a myth.

**** **** **** ****

Maren is ten when the fifth spirit returns to the Enchanted Forest. By then, her father has already died. His older sister Yelena takes care of them now, and she's the one who told them of the news. They don't know how she managed to get past the Mist. All they know is that a lost child of Northuldra has come back home, bringing with her her daughter, the fifth spirit of the woods.

"Does this mean we can be friends with the spirits again?" Ryder asks.

Maren didn't think it was possible, but somehow Yelena's frown deepens. She doesn't smile as much as her father does. _Did_. "I'm not sure. She's only a child. I don't think she can wake the other spirits yet."

"Then can we be friends with her?" Maren asks. "She's just a kid like me, right?"

Yelena's brow quirks, the tiniest hint of amusement in her eyes. "She and her mother live in a camp separate from the rest of us. Iduna thinks it might be dangerous." After a pause, she says, "But I think it'll do Elsa some good to have a friend."

Yelena sure has a roundabout way of saying yes, Maren comes to learn.

**** **** **** **** 

"Ah-ah, ah-ah... Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah..."

Maren pouts when she still only sees an empty clearing. The same result as the first time she tried it three years ago.

"I don't know why you're still trying," Ryder says from where he's making a snowman. It looks terrible and Ryder stuck his tongue out when she said so. "It's never worked before."

"It didn't work then because Elsa wasn't in the forest. She was trapped in that castle or whatever you call it."

She's here now, somehow. She's wanted to see the fifth spirit for so long. She'll at least try to catch a glimpse of her. 

"I still can't believe it," Ryder says. "Who knew the fifth spirit could be the daughter of an enemy? I didn't even know spirits can be born human."

Maren swings her legs, the heels of her feet hitting the rock's face. "She's a child of Northuldra, too," she mutters. "She's one of us."

But Ryder doesn't hear that. A baby deer gallops past them and Ryder follows it, captivated. Maren sighs and looks up, still only sees that thick blanket of mist.

"You've been outside, right, Elsa?" Maren asks. "Is the sky as beautiful as my father said it was? Is the sun really so bright that you can't truly look at it? What do the stars look like?"

Silence only answers back. She gives up and jumps down to the snow covered ground, her feet sinking into the powder of ice. A cool breeze suddenly blows past her and Maren shivers into her leathers. She turns to head home, but something catches her eye. It's a snowflake, floating as it dances with the wind. She follows its path with her eyes until it settles to the ground and melts in front of the snowman Ryder made.

Maren's breath catches. The snowman looks different now. The balls of snow that make up its body are no longer carelessly lumpy and the stones on its face are lined up to make a pleasant smile. One arm made of twig is raised as if to say hello, while the other is holding something up, offering it to Maren.

She carefully appproaches it, though she knows it isn't alive. It's holding a piece of ice with five, even points. It looks sharp, but when she takes it into her hand, it doesn't hurt her at all. She stares in wonder at the beautiful sculpture.

Magic. This is magic, she's sure of it.

"Elsa?" She looks around, still only sees snow and frosted birch trees. Even so, she holds the sculpture to her chest and says, "Thank you."

When she goes home to show Yelena what she was given, the old woman surprises Maren with a smile.

"It's beautiful," Maren says, "but what's it supposed to be?"

"It's a star," Yelena answers.

A star. Something in Maren's chest swells. She finally knows what a star looks like.

**** **** **** ****

Maren goes back to her clearing every once in a while, singing that same song that she was taught. It's like she's seven again, trying to catch a glimpse of the spirit she only hears of from her father's tales. Elsa never appears, but just before she leaves there's always somehow a snowman perfectly formed, smiling and waving at her, as if to say, "Goodbye. I hope I see you again."

Maren doesn't do much when she goes to the clearing. She'd talk sometimes, mostly about her brother or her friends. Sometimes about Yelena, once about her father. There are times where she doesn't talk at all, just sits by the stream carving a piece of wood when Yelena finally gave her a knife. She isn't as good as Elsa is with her magic, but whenever she leaves a finished carving with the snowman, it's always gone by the time she goes back, so she supposes Elsa likes them.

"Or maybe some animal takes them," Ryder says.

Maren frowns. She really hopes that isn't the case. But she doesn't want to give her brother the satisfaction of admitting to that, so she says, "It's her. I know it is."

Ryder tilts his head to the side. "How are you so sure? I just don't want you getting your hopes up, Mare."

He sounds sincere, so Maren relaxes from her indignant stance. A reindeer breaks off from its herd to graze near them and Ryder takes the opportunity to pet its fur. Maren's own hand wanders to her pouch, where she always keeps her star. It's never melted, because it's _magic_.

"It's her," she repeats. "I'm gonna make sure of it."

**** **** **** **** 

The next time she goes to the clearing, she comes up with a plan. She leaves a sculpture like she always does, this time a rabbit. After a few paces into the woods, she sneaks back, climbing a tree so Elsa won't be able to spot her. 

Maren doesn't have to wait long, and her heart almost jumps out of her chest when she sees a girl appear at the other side of the stream. She raises a hand and Maren barely holds back a gasp when she sees an ice bridge form for the girl to cross over. She makes her way to the snowman, the hint of an excited skip in her step and Maren bites back a fond smile at the sight. She climbs down the tree just as the girl takes the carving.

Maren takes a moment to stare at the girl's back, still amazed that the elusive fifth spirit of the woods is a child like her.

"The ears are a little uneven, aren't they?" Maren says sheepishly.

Elsa jumps in surprise, her magic synchronized with her reactions and creating tiny crystals of ice by her feet. She turns around, her yellow hair swaying with the action and her blue eyes wide in shock.

Absently, Maren remembers her father saying what color the sun and sky are. She wonders if they're as beautiful as Elsa apparently is.

"Sorry," Maren says. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see you."

It only takes Maren one step for fear to flash in Elsa's eyes and make her bolt. Maren mumbles a word that Yelena would not approve of and chases after Elsa over the bridge. It's slippery, as expected since it's made of ice, and she lags behind as she's careful not to slip.

"I just want to talk!"

Elsa doesn't reply. Once she's crossed the bridge, she waves a hand and Maren's eyes widen. She looks down and sees the cracks slowly forming in the bridge. It won't be a bad fall, but it'll be extremely cold and Maren would rather not freeze.

With the all the determination and stubborness of a ten-year-old, she jumps over the crack and slides down the bridge. The landing could be better, but she quickly gets back on her feet. Elsa is no where to be seen, but she left a track of footprints in the snow that Maren follows. Soon, she catches up to Elsa.

"Elsa! Please! I just want to be your friend!"

Elsa stops in her tracks. Maren's chest swells with hope, only for it to be snuffed out when a wall of ice separates her from the other girl. 

She places one hand on the ice, panting as she takes in the cold air. When she circles around the wall, all she finds is the wooden rabbit lying in the snow. Elsa still left footprints. She can still follow her.

Instead, Maren goes back home, dejected. She supposes they weren't friends after all.

**** **** **** ****

When Maren comes home with her pants soaked, Yelena waits until she's given her a warm bath and bundled her in blankets in front of the fire before flicking her in the forehead.

"Ow!" Maren's hands protectively cover her forehead. She thought Yelena was going to kiss it when she leaned closer. In hindsight, she should have been suspicious of her aunt uncharacteristically sacrificing personal space from the start. "What was that for?"

" _That_ was for pestering the _fifth spirit_. I know it's easy to forget that because Elsa is still a child, but you have to remember that she is still a spirit, a part of nature that we must respect. Even so, you must also respect her as a person."

Maren hugs her knees to her chest, the wooden rabbit clutched in her hand. Elsa was right to leave it. It's pretty ugly. "I didn't mean to do anything bad. I just really wanted to be friends with her. I thought she wanted to be friends, too."

She hears Yelena sigh. It makes Maren finally look at her. Her aunt has a rare soft look on her face. It's more effective in making her feel guilty somehow.

"We don't force someone to be our friend, Maren. Or beg. We let them decide that on their own. I really do think Elsa wanted that, but some people need time. When she's ready, she'll come to you."

"Like a reindeer," Maren mumbles.

A hint of a smile graces Yelena's lips. "Yes. Like a reindeer." 

**** **** **** **** 

"I'm really sorry," Maren says once she's back at the clearing.

After only a night of self-reflection, she's come to realize how bothersome and disrespectful she was. It gave way to guilt and shame, which is why it took her a week to muster up the courage to come back.

Elsa is no where to be seen, but she knows she's here, hiding somewhere. 

"I shouldn't have chased you down like that. I scared you, and I didn't want to do that. I won't bother you anymore, so you don't have to worry."

Maren waits, hopes for a reply. When no answer comes, she turns back for camp.

"Wait!"

Maren almost thinks it was just her imagination, but it unmistakably came from a voice she's never heard before. She turns around and there Elsa is, still half-hidden behind a tree. 

Elsa still has fear in her eyes, but quiet determination overtakes it as she steps away from the tree. Though she's still hugging her arms as if to protect herself from something.

"Hi," Maren says, still amazed that Elsa actually showed herself. "I'm Honeymaren."

"I know. Yelena told me about her niece." After a pause, Elsa asks, "Are you coming back?"

Maren realizes she's been staring when Elsa quirks a brow at her. She couldn't help it. It's the first time she's heard her voice and gotten a proper look at her.

"I uh..." She repeats in her head what Yelena said. Respect, respect. "Do you want me to?"

Elsa looks down. A barely noticable shrug. "I didn't mind seeing you."

"Oh! Well, then I guess I will." She carefully considers what she's going to say next. "I wouldn't mind seeing you, too. Or, you know, hearing you talk back would also be nice." 

She wasn't sure if that was "respectful" enough, so she tacks that on with a tiny smile. Elsa gives a shy one in return.

"I don't have anything interesting to say," is her reply, an indirect answer as to why she hid. "I'm just no good at talking in general."

Maren shrugs. "You're talking right now, aren't you? And you're doing pretty good so far."

A hand comes up to Elsa's mouth, but she can see from her eyes that she's smiling. Maren preens at the fact that she made her smile.

"I suppose." Elsa looks timid again as she fidgets with her blue skirt. "I have to apologize for something, too. When I was running away from you, I lost your rabbit. I'm sorry."

"Oh, you mean this?" From her pouch, Maren pulls out the wooden rabbit.

Elsa's blue eyes brighten at the sight of it. She takes a step closer, only to stop when she comes to realize what she was going to do. She looks down at the stream between them, then at Maren. She looks conflicted, both hands fisting her skirt as she shifts from her toes to the balls of her feet.

Maren's lips quirk in fond amusent. "You still want it?"

"Yes, I do."

Maren blinks. She can't erase her crooked grin. "But it's pretty ugly."

"I still like it."

She didn't deny it. Maren isn't sure if she feels offended or not.

Maren looks at her shoddy carving, as if ten more seconds of scrutiny will make it look any better. "Really? Why?"

"You made it," Elsa simply says. "I watched you carve it for days. You made that and the first ones, all without magic. It's amazing."

Elsa's eyes are bright with wonder even though she's only talking about Maren's less than amateur carving. Even though Elsa's the one who can make perfect sculptures in seconds. Even though she's the one with gifts given by nature itself. 

It's time for Maren to feel bashful. "Liar," she mutters. "You're actually good at talking."

 _Too good_ , she thinks. 

Elsa's head tilts to the side. "I don't understand what you mean."

"You can have it, if you still want it." She leaves it on the snow for Elsa to get when she leaves. She doesn't know why she doesn't want to come near her, but she won't ask about that now. Must be a Spirit Thing. Or an Elsa Thing. Maybe both. "I have to go now. Ryder and I are gonna learn how to tend to the reindeer."

"Okay. Until next time, Honeymaren."

Maren flashes her one last smile. "Until next time."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this pandemic really sucks, so i hope this update can brighten up your day even the tiniest bit. stay at home so you can stay safe, everyone! mwah!

"Oh. You're actually here."

Maren beams at Elsa from the other side of the stream. Elsa's back is against a tree as she sits daintily in the snow, the fact that she isn't even shivering from it a stark reminder that she's more than human. She gives Maren a meek wave.

"Hi."

Maren perches herself ontop of a boulder. "Guess I don't have to do that siren call thingy." She pauses, realizing something. "So you can actually hear it?"

A nod. She doesn't even look away from her book.

"And then you just... magic your way here?"

Elsa still doesn't look up. The corners of her lips do quirk upwards though. "I just walk."

"... magically?"

That gets Elsa to lift her head. Her eyes are squinted in amusement. "No, just normally."

"Oh." It takes Maren three awkward minutes to find something to say next. "How old are you?"

Elsa looks away from her book, looking like she forgot Maren was just on the other side of the stream. 

It seems Elsa's the type to not mind the quiet, maybe even love it. Maren would often prefer it too, especially when she needs a break from Ryder's hyperactivity, but right now she wants to talk. She's waited so long for Elsa to show herself to her, after all.

Elsa gives her a curious half smile. It looks like she didn't expect that to be Maren's next question. Maybe she should have asked something else? How fitting that she can't think of a better ice breaker in the presence of an ice spirit.

"I'm twelve."

"Cool, cool." Maren awkwardly sits on her rock, tapping the tips of her mitted hands lightly against each other. Then, a bit too late, she adds, "I'm ten."

Elsa spares Maren a glance before going back to her book. Maren thinks she saw the tips of her lips twitch. "Cool," she parrots.

Maren pouts, pulling her folded legs closer to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. This isn't the beginning of a new magical friendship that she expected. Her eyes rest on Elsa's book. She can't read the Arendellian text on the cover, but it sure looks pretty.

"Is that story any good?" she asks.

Elsa bites her lower lip and closes her book. Maren's back straightens, scared that she has upset Elsa again. Maybe she should have stopped with the questions. But Elsa doesn't stand to leave. She twists in her perch so she can fully face Maren.

"No, not really," Elsa says with a bit of a wry smile. "It's a romance, and that's not really what I usually like to read. I don't get why the girl even likes the guy." She frowns at the book, as if it were rude to her. "He's pretty boring."

Maren muffles her giggles. "Then why are you even reading it?"

Elsa shrugs. "I've run out of books to read. I only have this because Anna..." She trails off, her eyes now downcast. Her thumb delicately brushes against the spine of the book. "My little sister Anna gave this to me before we left. Even though it's her favorite."

Maren couldn't help but mirror Elsa's somber expression. "I'm sorry. Ryder's a pain in the butt, but I can't imagine living without him." With a lot more bitterness in her voice than she intended, she says, "The Mist sucks."

Elsa hugs the book to her chest. "It does."

Elsa turns silent again, staring down at the book on her lap. It makes Maren wonder why they came back to the Enchanted Forest in the first place. Yelena won't tell them, saying that it isn't her story to tell. The _how_ though, is something none of them know the answer to.

Well, except for Antohallan, she supposes.

Maren wants to ask Elsa herself, but she holds her tongue on that matter. She doesn't want to overstep a boundary and scare Elsa off again.

"You kind of remind me of Anna," Elsa suddenly says.

Maren is pulled out of her thoughts to see Elsa looking at her with a fond smile. Maren feels her cheeks heat up, not used to such an expression from the usually guarded girl. It surprises and confuses Maren when she feels her heart skip a beat.

"Uh... really?"

"Well, not _exactly_. You definitely don't _look_ alike."

Maren tilts her head. "Then how do I remind you of her?"

"I don't know," Elsa giggles a little. "You're both cute."

Maren curls further into herself, hiding her face behind her folded arms and knees. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. She wasn't supposed to be the shy one between the two of them.

"... thanks, I guess."

**** **** **** ****

"Hey, Maren! We're gonna go play in the snow. Wanna -- What are you doing?"

Maren is under the light coming from their goahti's window, hunched over a piece of paper. "Writing. Obviously." 

She has a decent stack already finished on their table, and Ryder decides now would be a good time to snoop on them.

"Hey!" She snatches the paper back from him. "Don't mess with these. You'll get the order all jumbled."

"Why are you writing Father's stories?"

"Nothing special. Just a new hobby."

"You've been acting weird since you became friends with Elsa." Ryder's eyes widen. "Is this that that puberty thing they told us about?"

"Okay." Maren just _had_ to put her quill down after that. "Let's go."

Though Maren really did enjoy herself, it didn't take long before she told her friends that she wanted to take a break. The fact that Feles kept taunting her might have contributed to that. She hates that he always teased her.

She's sitting on a tree branch now, watching as Ryder and the others throw snowballs at each other. A part of her wishes she could just be with Elsa instead, until she realizes that just having her also be here with their friends would be so much better.

Her "meetings" with Elsa have now grown from awkward to fun and enjoyable. She's found herself looking forward to it. Maren still does a majority of the talking, but Elsa would sometimes talk about the stories she actually likes and her sister when she feels like doing so. 

"Hey, Honeymaren!"

Two girls are waving her down from the foot of the birch tree. They're about four or five years older than her, and Maren is confused as to why they want to talk to her. In just a moment, Maren smoothly swings down from the branch she was perched on. 

"What's up?"

"Is it true?" Noa, the shorter one, asks. "Is it true that you made the fifth spirit favor you by giving her offerings?"

Maren's eyes widen. She didn't think anyone but Ryder and Yelena knew about her friendship with Elsa. 

"Uh... I wouldn't call them off--"

"Do you think the rest of the tribe should do it, too?" The other one, Dawn, interrupts. 

Noa lightly slaps Dawn's arm. "It's too late for that! Winter's ending already."

Dawn rolls her eyes. "She's an _ice_ spirit, not the _winter_ spirit. She doesn't just take a break from existing the rest of the year."

Somewhere behind the two girls, Maren spots Ryder. She narrows her eyes at him. His own widen before he drags the other kids to some other part of the forest where he's safe from his sister's wrath.

"Do whatever you want," Maren concedingly tells the two girls before running after her brother. If Elsa wants more wood carvings, then she'll get them.

She lost sight of them, but she has a feeling they just went to the river so she heads that way. On her way, Maren hears voices. She recognizes Yelena's gruff drawl, compelling her to to make a turn. 

Yelena's back is to Maren when she spots her, sitting on a fallen log next to a woman. Curious, Maren hides herself behind a tree. Her aunt's hand is resting on the woman's back as if to comfort and the sight astonishes her. Even Yelena's voice sounds soothing. She rarely sees her like this.

"I know I did it with good intentions, but I can't help but feel terrible," the woman says. "We still don't know how Elsa can lift the Mist. She isn't even close to waking the other spirits. I've doomed my daughter to another kind of prison and left my other child with no sure way of seeing her or my husband again."

Maren's hand flies to her mouth to muffle her gasp. She turns away, her back pressed against the bark. This is Elsa's mother.

"You can't lose faith, Iduna," she hears Yelena say. "Elsa is the fifth spirit for a reason. She's still only a child. We need to give her time."

"But what about you? The Northuldra has been waiting for far too long. The sky shouldn't have been taken from you at all."

A pause. Then, "It shouldn't have been. But right now, there's nothing we can do. Not until Elsa has a better grasp on her powers."

Iduna's sigh sounds shaky. "I know."

Yelena still has more to say, but Maren doesn't stick around for it. She retraces her steps as quietly as she could. When she's gotten far enough, she takes off on a run back to the goahti she shares with Ryder.

Maren had an inkling as to what Elsa got up to when she isn't with her. Sometimes when she gets to their clearing before Elsa has noticed her, she would catch Elsa trying to make more complicated shapes with her ice. There are times when she would seem a lot more tired and somber than usual, those afternoons then spent with mostly silence. Elsa's been practicing. Maren doesn't know how exactly Elsa could wake the other spirits or lift the Mist, and it seems neither do Yelena and Elsa, but she knows her friend is doing her best at figuring it out.

Friend. Maren's chest warmths at the word. She's never said so out loud, and neither has Elsa. It doesn't need to be. She knows that the way Elsa's eyes sparkle when she sees Maren means that she feels the same.

Like a warrior on a mission, Maren grabs her quill and continues writing.

**** **** **** **** 

It takes almost a week before Maren's friends ask her about Elsa. Ryder had already apologised by then, saying he didn't know that Maren wanted to keep it a secret. That made Maren take pause, rethinking why she even wanted to keep it secret in the first place until she realizes that there's nothing to be mad about, really. 

It's not like she wants to keep Elsa to herself. In fact, it would be great if Elsa could one day befriend the other kids in their camp like she did Maren. 

"You don't have your hat," Elsa says when Maren arrives. "And your hair's a little messy." 

If Maren didn't know Elsa long enough, she would have thought she were chiding her. But she knows by now that Elsa's just stating an observation.

"Yeah." Maren unfurls her braid and combs her fingers through her hair. "Feles took it. He was doing it to annoy me into telling him about you," she grumbles. "He and Abbran were gonna follow me here so I just bolted 'til I lost them."

"You didn't have to go through the trouble."

"But if I led them here, you would have hid yourself," Maren pouts. 

"You say, like I'm some easily spooked animal." 

It's kind of funny how indignant Elsa looks, so she giggles as she ties her hair into a simple ponytail. It's nice to be reminded that Elsa isn't as mature as she makes herself out to be. "You are. Like that adorable baby reindeer that you can't help but want to approach. Oh. Speaking of adorable. My friend Abbran has a crush on you."

Elsa's face twists in confusion. "I don't even know him. And I doubt he knows me."

"He doesn't. He's seen you though, and he thinks you're pretty. That's probably why they wanted to follow me."

"Or maybe they just miss you. You _have_ been spending an awful lot of time here."

"Well, yeah. Because I like it here." She tilts her head curiously at Elsa. "Why do you look so guilty?"

"I just... wouldn't want to keep you from your friends."

"You aren't. I choose to be here because you're my friend, too."

Elsa peers up at her, wearing a shy smile. "And you are mine. I, um..." Elsa looks down again, fingers playing with a corner of a page from Anna's book. "I've never had a friend aside from Anna. Which is pretty pathetic."

"It's not. But if you want more friends, you can meet mine."

Elsa shifts from where she's sitting. "I don't know..."

"Why?" When Elsa struggles for a reply, Maren says, "I'm happy that you choose me to spend your time with." She chuckles a little. "It kind of makes me feel special. But there's a lot of other cool kids here, too. Actually, a lot of them are cooler than me. Lotta is _definitely_ cooler than me."

"Nobody is cooler than you."

Maren grins. " _You're_ cooler than me. And I think it'll be great if they could see that too."

Elsa deserves to have more people appreciate her. If only she would stop hiding from everyone else.

"I'm scared," Elsa says. Her brows are knit together and her hands are clenched ontop of the book on her lap. "Mother and I left because I hurt Anna with my magic."

Maren sits up straighter. "Oh no. Is she okay?"

Elsa nods. "We got help from some rock trolls. But they said that if I had hit her heart, she would have... I didn't mean to, I swear. We were just playing."

"Hey..." Maren says softly. She stands at the edge of the bank, not for the first time wishing that the stream weren't there between them. "It's okay. I believe you."

"They separated us, after that." Elsa still keeps her head down. "Father was afraid that I might hurt her again. Mother took me here because she thought that the spirits could help take this all away. But instead the Mist opened up and took us in."

"Because your magic isn't supposed to be taken," Maren says. "You _are_ magic."

Elsa laughs wryly. "The fifth spirit, right? But I don't feel it. I feel the same as I've always been. I'm just a kid who can barely control her magic. Yelena thinks that I'm meant to wake the spirits and free the forest. But I can't. I'm sorry that I can't." Her eyes look so sad when she finally looks at Maren. "I'm sorry that I can't even let you see the stars."

"But you already have." Maren opens her pouch and pulls out the sculpture she gave her. "See?"

Elsa laughs. Maren's chest aches when she sees Elsa rub at her eyes. "That's nothing compared to what's up there."

"But I still like it," Maren says, echoing Elsa's words the first time they talked. "You made it and it's amazing."

" _You're_ amazing."

It's Maren's turn to laugh. "Thanks. So, um..." She gestures at the stream between them. "Is the thing that happened with Anna the reason why you won't come close to me?"

Elsa nods. "Mother doesn't think my magic is a curse anymore, but I'm still afraid. I don't want to hurt you, too."

"You won't. And when you realize that..." Maren wraps her arms around herself and pretends to squeeze something. "... I'll give you a biiig, warm hug."

Elsa chuckles. "I'd love that."

**** **** **** **** 

Maren and Ryder are bringing back wood that Giste chopped for them when she finally gets to see Idunna face to face.

"Excuse me. Do you know where Yelena is right now?"

Maren is too busy staring, awestruck, so her brother is the one to reply.

"She's fishing in the river right now," Ryder says with a friendly smile. "If you need to talk to our aunt, just go find her there."

Recognition shines in Idunna's blue eyes. "You're Honeymaren and Ryder."

They nod. Maren says, "And you're Elsa's mother." When Idunna eyes her curiously, she explains, "You look a lot like her. You just have darker hair."

Idunna smiles and crouches to be level to them. "I'm happy to finally meet the two of you. Especially my daughter's friend."

Maren and Ryder only look at the hand Idunna extends. Their arms are too full with chopped wood to take it. "Um."

"Oh. Right." Idunna's cheeks color pink. She even gets shy the same way Elsa does. "Let me help you with that."

"Oh no, you don't have to," Maren starts to protest, but Idunna has already taken the pieces of wood from her.

"I can go get Yelena if you want," Ryder says. "Maren, you go take her to our goahti while I go get her."

Without warning, he dumps his pile into Maren's arms. When she gets her balance back, she shouts back his name, but he's already running to the path that leads to the river.

"That's kind of your brother," Idunna remarks as she follows Maren to their camp.

"He just doesn't like carrying these," Maren says, raising the logs a bit. 

"I'd like to thank you for befriending Elsa," Idunna says after a beat of silence. "She isn't very good at making friends. That's my fault." She sighs. "I didn't give her as much freedom as I should have in our old home."

"I know." She can feel Idunna's gaze. She hates it when adults do this thing where they seem to read what's on your mind. Or try to. "Elsa told me about Anna. And her punishment."

Idunna continues to watch her. "She must trust you a lot to reveal that." 

Maren doesn't reply. She has opinions regarding the old life Elsa had, but voicing those opinions at Idunna would probably be rude. So, she keeps her mouth shut.

(How polite of her. Yelena should be proud.)

People stare when they see Maren come back with the fifth spirit's mother. When they've put away the wood, she leads Idunna to Yelena's goahti and prepares coffee for her.

"Why don't you live in our camp?" Maren asks when the silence has become too unbearable. "Or any of the other settlements?"

Idunna's lips quirk as she keeps her eyes on her coffee. "You're very precocious."

Maren blinks. Pre-catious? "What does that mean?"

That gets Idunna to really smile. "I don't stay with the others because I don't feel like I deserve to. You know who I married, yes?"

"The king of Arendelle." Maren frowns. "I don't get that. Arendelle hurt us. So I don't get why."

Idunna's smile disappears. "Love can be hard to understand." She opens her mouth for something more to say, but abruptly closes it, seeming to change her mind. "This isn't the home I used to know either. My family died during that battle. I barely know anyone here now. And I'm caught between my guilt for betraying my people and my desire to reconnect to them." She chuckles suddenly. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm saying this to you."

 _Because Maren's a child_ , she knows Idunna keeps herself from saying.

"It's okay. I understand," Maren says. "You're just awkward, like Elsa."

Idunna looks taken aback. Maren's afraid she said something offending until Idunna laughs into her hand.

"I suppose I am," Idunna eventually says. "I guess Elsa got her lack of social skills from me. When I was a child before the Mist appeared, my best friend was the wind spirit. Instead of children my age, I had gusts of wind and dancing leaves to play with."

"Having a spirit for a friend doesn't sound so bad. I should know. I consider Elsa my best friend."

Idunna's smile looks amused, fond even. "Really now?"

Without hesitation, Maren nods.

**** **** **** ****

"Oh, you're here early," Elsa remarks with surprise.

Maren jumps off her rock. She can barely stop herself from bouncing in place due to both excitement and nervousness.

"You make it sound like I always make you wait long," Maren jokes, then reconsiders it. "Do I?"

Elsa laughs a little, leaning back against a tree. "No."

"Great! I actually rushed to finish all my chores today because I'm excited to show you... this!" 

From her satchel, she pulls out her gift. Elsa curiously eyes it, stepping as close as the bank's edge would let her to get a better look.

"A book?"

"Yeah. Kind of."

Elsa's curious scrutiny has Maren looking down at the book in her hand. The excitement has gone away and overcome by insecurity.

"I made it for you," Maren admits. She keeps her eyes on the book, scared to look up. "I wrote all of Father's stories down and stitched all the papers together. You probably can't read Northuldran, but you can have your mother read it for you. It isn't very neat though," she chuckles sheepishly. "Ryder messed with me a lot when I was writing. So I'll have to apologize in advance for that."

"It's really for me?"

Maren jumps in surprise. She finally looks up and sees Elsa right in front of her. She has made a path with her ice to cut through the stream between them, standing at the end where ice meets soil and rock. Maren only needs to extend her arms to be able to touch Elsa now.

"Yes. Um." Maren is momentarily distracted. Elsa's eyes are a shade lighter than the blue Ryder has. _That's the color of the sky_ , her father had said. "You mentioned that you've been running out of books to read."

"So you made one for me?" Elsa's voice sounds a little breathless.

Maren nods. "I compiled all of Father's stories that I remember. I'm not as good a storyteller as he is --" she blinks, swallows, corrects herself -- " _was_. Don't worry. No romance. I know you don't like them. Father had a lot more stories about epic adventures anyway."

She holds it out for Elsa to take. Just as she's starting to feel a little nervous that Elsa wouldn't, two pale hands reach up for it. Elsa hugs it to her chest, looking as if Maren's messily transcribed and terribly binded storybook were the most precious thing she's ever held.

"Thank you." Elsa has the biggest smile Maren has so far seen on her face. That's new. "Thank you so much, Maren."

_Oh, that's new, too._

"Can I... Can I get that hug now?" Elsa asks.

Maren almost immediately spreads her arms, maybe too eagerly. Though she did have enough control to not tackle Elsa in an embrace herself. She lets Elsa take that step, from ice to soil until she's falling into Maren's arms. Elsa is considerably taller, Maren's face buried in her shoulder.

Elsa's body isn't warm, but Maren only wraps her arms tighter around her, as if trying to share whatever warmth she has to the other girl. Her chest kind of aches and her stomach is feeling a little funny. That makes her sound like she's sick with something. Can someone be ill with so much happiness?

When Elsa finally pulls away, she says, "Will you read it to me?"

"No way." Maren rapidly shakes her head. "That would be way too embarrassing."

"Come on." Elsa's eyes suddenly look bigger, and the close proximity isn't helping. "Please, Maren?"

Oh no. There it is again. She's definitely sick with something. Stomachs aren't supposed to feel like that.

Maren throws her head back and whines... and whines some more. When she rights herself, she glares at Elsa, but there's no real ire behind it. Based on Elsa's slowly growing grin, she's likely aware of it, too.

"Fine," Maren concedes bitterly. She takes the book and narrows her eyes at Elsa. "Are you sure _ice_ is your only magic? Because your powers of persuasion are making me really suspiscious."

"I'm a spirit, silly. Not some enchantress."

Elsa reaches her hand out for Maren's. She hesitates, and Maren watches her pale hand hesitate before slowly clasping around Maren's. Before Elsa could change her mind and pull away, Maren grips the hand in her own.

She doesn't miss Elsa's subtle sigh of relief before tugging Maren to the rock she usually sits in. Maren opens the book to the first page and Elsa laughs at what she sees, though not maliciously.

"You made illustrations, too," Elsa coos.

Maren simply shrugs, definitely not embarrassed. "I'm no artist, but I tried my best."

Elsa's smile doesn't waver. "So what's that?"

Maren looks at her crude drawing. It's the silhouette of what seems like a man with a reindeer's antlers on their head.

"That's the fifth spirit," Maren says. At the confused look on Elsa's face, she elaborates, "There're tons of stories that say the fifth spirit can disguise itself as an animal. In a lot of the stories, they're a reindeer."

Elsa frowns. "I can't do that."

"Maybe not yet. Maybe you're not supposed to at all."

"Maybe. Come on, then." Elsa's smile comes back vibrant, and her arm is pressing against Maren's. Her cheeks hurt from smiling back. "Read to me, please."

On that day, at the tail end of winter, the snow melts along with the walls Elsa put up around herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fifth spirit as a reindeer thing is a referrence to that deleted scene that was supposed to be an alternate intro. I'm one of the people who think that the reindeer person young Idunna saw was the fifth spirit before Elsa. 
> 
> Next chapter is the last one where theyre kids. Sorry if you were eager for a time skip for the romance to happen right away. I wanna get to that too, but I unexpectedly enjoyed writing them as childhood buddies too much.


	3. Chapter 3

What Maren loves about the end of winter is that she gets to feel Elsa's hand in her own without her mitts. The older girl's skin is pleasantly cool against hers, and something about that makes her never want to let go.

"You'll be okay, I promise." Maren tries a reassuring smile, though she can't help her giddiness at the slight tug from Elsa trying to pull her back.

Elsa shakes her head. "It's not me I'm worried about."

"You're worried about me," Maren's tone turns flat, incredulous. "Please. I climbed a tree before I learned to write."

That doesn't erase Elsa's frown. "That's quite worrying."

"I'll be fine."

Elsa looks up at the tree before them. It's not even that tall. "But you're so small. What if you fall?"

"I won't."

Unfortunately, Maren has to pull her hand free of Elsa's grip. She jumps to grip a sturdy branch, ignoring Elsa calling her name as she climbs up. Once she's seated, she makes sure that her legs are curled securely around the branch before swinging backwards and hanging like a bat. Elsa squeaks and Maren grins at her upsidedown face.

"See?" she gloats before swinging to land after a flip.

A hand is clutching Elsa's chest, but Maren can also see her wearing an exasperated smile. "I do admit. That was impressive."

"So come on, then, oh great spirit."

When Elsa finally opened up about her life in her castle, Maren learned that she was deprived of a lot of things. Just like the Mist was the Northuldra's cage, the castle was Elsa's own. That's what she says, but Maren is of the opinion that her parents had more to do with that rather than the building. She tries not to voice it, but it seems she just isn't as good as Elsa at keeping her composure.

"Do you hate my mother?" Elsa asked her once.

She remembers struggling with a reply until deciding that the truth would be the best option. "Is it so obvious?"

"Not to me. But Mother thinks so. She said that meeting you was... tense."

"Oh."

"So you do hate her?"

"That sounds too mean. But... I really don't like her. Or your father. I don't like the way they treated you."

Elsa looked down at the book they had between them. It was the one she made, and they were reading the story about a mother trying to get back her child that the spirits took.

"I didn't like it either," Elsa admitted.

"Do you hate them for it?" she asked. In a few years, Maren will look back and regret asking this. But at the time, she was only curious. And maybe cared a little too much.

Elsa shrugged. "I know I love them. But, I feel other things too. Ugly feelings. Father wanted me to not feel a lot of things, and I included them. The ugly feelings always made the ice crawl out of me. So maybe I do."

As if she felt bad for admitting it, she adds, "But Mother doesn't believe the same things Father did anymore. She lets me do what I want now. I think Yelena helped with that. She visits a lot."

She's felt even more of an appreciation for her aunt ever since that discovery. Yelena wasn't warm like her father. They were opposites, like Maren and Ryder are in a way. But just because Yelena isn't expressively affectionate doesn't mean she doesn't care. Though a hug every once in a while would be nice, she wouldn't force her aunt into that. The occasional pats in the head and the pride in her eyes when Maren does something good is enough. She cares about their tribe, and she cares about her niece and nephew.

Maren cares about Elsa, too. So she made sure to make up for everything that Elsa was deprived of. As much of what a child like her could at least. So they played games, joked around, and, well, climbed trees.

It terrified Elsa, but she admitted that the view was worth the fear.

**** **** **** ****

"Who is that?" Ryder points somewhere at the other side of the grazing field. It takes a bit of squinting, but soon Maren sees the shape of a small girl near some of the reindeers. Ryder gasps. "Is that the fifth spirit?"

It'll be hard to deny that. Elsa's the only child in the Northuldra with such light-colored hair. "Yeah. What's she doing here?"

"I think she's trying to get close to the calves."

Maren giggles when she realizes how right her brother is. "Let's go to her."

Ryder gives her an uncertain look. "Are you sure? I thought she only talks to you and Yelena."

"And if I introduce you, maybe she'll talk to you, too. I've told her about you. She knows you're harmless."

If anything, Elsa always thought of herself to be the one to cause harm, but she like to think that it"s changed ever since she first got to hug her.

"Hey, Giste!" Maren calls for a woman brushing a reindeer's coat a couple of meters from them. "We're gonna go play at the other side of the field!"

Without looking back at them, Giste waves a dismissive hand. "Just don't go too far from me!" 

So she grabs her brother's hand and drags the both of them to where Elsa is. To keep themselves from being spotted, they circle the field until they see the other girl's back. Maren shushes Ryder, telling him to stay where he is as she slowly closes in on Elsa.

Elsa has warned Maren to never surprise her if she doesn't want snow in her face, so she clears her throat when she's three strides away. Elsa almost jumps in the air from where she's crouching, spooked like a hunted reindeer. She only relaxes when she turns to see Maren grinning at her.

"What are you doing here, Elsa?"

"I, um..." The rustling of grass causes Elsa to glance back at the calf, only to pout when she sees that it's trotting back to its parents. "Aw."

Maren grins, mirroring Elsa's crouch. "You know, if you wanted to get close to the reindeers, we could've helped. Ryder's really good with them."

Elsa's eyes widen and follow Maren's line of sight when she turns her head to her brother.

"Oh." Elsa stands upright and pats the dirt and grass off her pants. She's been wearing Northuldra leathers lately. "Hello."

Ryder perks up at Elsa's inviting smile. He almost runs to them, but has enough self-control to keep himself behind Maren and give Elsa space. He's practically draped over his sister's back as he excitedly extends a hand over Maren's shoulder for Elsa.

"I'm Ryder. It's an honor to meet you, Miss Fifth Spirit, ma'am."

Maren shoves him off her and hisses, "Stop. You're embarassing me. This was a mistake."

"Aw, boo. No take backs."

She hears Elsa giggle before two cold hands are on Maren's shoulders, holding her back from pouncing her brother.

"It's okay," Elsa says, more to Maren. "Just 'Elsa' is fine, Ryder."

"Ok. Do you still want to pet a reindeer?"

Elsa's eyes almost sparkle at the question. She looks to Maren who only nudges her.

"You'll be fine," she says. 

"Here. Show me your hand," Ryder tells Elsa who does as told with a little hesitation. From his pouch, he drops a couple of berries on Elsa's palm. "Hold your hand out and wait for one to come near you."

Maren watches with fond amusent as Ryder slowly leads Elsa to a family of reindeers. The calf takes interest in the berries and comes closer. The parents don't move, more cautious, but they seem to have enough trust in Ryder's familiar face. They let their baby approach Elsa until it's eating the berries off her hand.

Maren hears Elsa laugh, likely tickled by the calf's mouth. She feels her grin widen when Ryder continues talking to Elsa. There's hope for her yet.

Movement in her peripherals catches Maren's attention. A reindeer has left the herd to pursue something in the forest instead. Maren wouldn't have been worried, but she recognizes its broken antler and grey coat. It's the one that recently got attacked by foxes. 

Maren frowns. They need all the few reindeers that they have for the tribe, Yelena said. Maren doesn't think it would be good to leave an injured one alone. With Giste's staff that she borrowed in her hand, she runs to catch up to the animal.

Maren grows anxious when she realizes where the path is leading her to. There's a reason why she doesn't go to the cabin Elsa shares with her mother, neither do the rest of the Northuldra for the same reason. Its location is much too close to the Border.

Maren has to stop in her tracks when she loses sight of the reindeer. Maybe it's a sign, maybe she's being told to stop her pursuit. But then she hears something snap. She runs to the source of the sound.

She finds the reindeer trapped in a sturdy net hanging by a tree. Maren is quick to grab her knife and say, "Don't worry. I'll get you out of that."

"Halt! That reindeer is ours now."

Maren's blood runs cold. She completely understood what Elsa meant when she told her about emotions that felt ugly. It's what she would call the anger she's feeling at the moment. The kind of anger that makes her heart race in a suffocating way and her hands painfully grip the staff. The kind of anger that flares up when she sees that green uniform, or the sword they wield in one hand and the shield they brandish in another.

Only a single man appears, but it no way makes Maren relax. His hair is greying, the man aged by the decades he spent trapped in the Forest. But he is still a grown adult, and Maren is but a child untrained for combat. She won't stand a chance.

Still.

"This one is ours!" Maren claims with as much defiance as her tiny body could convey. "You're not taking it!"

The Arendellian soldier stares, bemused. "As per our agreement with Yelena, we're allowed to hunt and gather within our territory. And you're the one who trespassed."

The flames of Maren's anger are stoked by his words. "No. _You_ were the ones who trespassed!"

His jaw clenches, but he stands his ground. "Give up the animal, child. Your people have plenty."

Maren shakes her head, even as his intimidating form stalks closer. "You'll have to fight me for it." 

His brows knit closer together. "What?"

Maren charges, swinging the staff at the soldier as hard as she could. Unfortunately, the element of surprise didn't help because he easily blocks the blow with his shield. She ignores the painful vibrations recoiled into her hands and keeps swinging. 

"What the -- Hey! Kid, stop!"

She doesn't listen, instead takes the chance when she sees an opening. But the soldier still has better reflexes. He swings his sword, the sharp blade easily cutting through wood. Pain stings Maren's right arm and she stumbles back to the ground. Maren stares wide-eyed at the rip in her sleeve, slowly getting soaked by red, red blood.

"Shit!" The soldier curses and immediately drops on one knee, shield and sword thrown aside. "Sorry, kid. Just calm down and --"

"Don't touch me!" Maren curls into herself and glares at the man. "Don't come closer."

"Hugo. Did we manage to snag --"

Another Arendellian soldier appears, this man's skin much darker than even most Northuldra. She's seen him once before, maybe a year before Iduna and Elsa came to the Forest. He had risked breaching their territory to talk to Yelena about something important. On rare occassions, Yelena would even mention him. Though she would utter his title with as much disdain as she could, Maren knows her aunt respects Mattias for being a fair man.

"Uh... What's happening here?" he asks.

The lieutant takes in the sight before him; his soldier kneeling over an upset Northuldran girl. His eyes dart from the sword and pieces of Giste's staff then to the child clutching her arm. The dubious confusion on Mattias' face changes into stern concern.

"Hugo," the tone of Mattias' voice drops to something more serious. "What happened?"

"This crazy little girl attacked me!" Hugo stands to reason to his leader. "I was only trying to defend myself, then I accidentally cut her arm."

Maren gets up, too. She refuses to step away from the reindeer despite the pain in her wound. "I'm not letting you take _our_ reindeer."

"We caught it here, fair and square, child," Hugo replies. "We have people to feed."

"And I have my tribe," Maren fires back. "Arendelle already took the sky from us. Haven't you stolen enough?"

Hugo doesn't back down. "We're trapped in here as much as you are." 

"We didn't ask you to come here! We never asked for your people to come and ruin everything!" 

Maren's head is bowed, glaring at the ground as hot and angry tears fall from her eyes. When she hears soft footfalls on the grass approaching, she expects to be shoved, attacked. But she only sees a man kneeling down to her level.

"May I see your wound?" Mattias asks.

Maren has half a mind to be stubborn and refuse. But his kind-looking eyes and soft smile persuades her to expose her wound.

Just as Mattias is about to reach for her arm, Maren feels the temperature drastically drop. Maren sees the grass below their feet freeze before she notices that Elsa is now also here. 

"Your majesty!" Hugo exclaims. Gone is the confident air around him in the princess' presence.

But Elsa doesn't even acknowledge Hugo bowing to her in reverence. She ignores Mattias in front of Maren and all but pushes him away. Elsa reaches for her arm and this time Maren doesn't hesitate, willingly lets her friend see the cut. Maren winces when Elsa's touch causes the pain to flare up, and it finally rips Elsa's attention away from the wound and to Maren's face. 

In one moment, Elsa's eyes fill with heartache as she carefully wipes the wet streak from Maren's cheeks. In the next, they're frozen cold by anger. Maren feels Elsa's hands go from cool to freezing before the other girl lets go of her face. Elsa's hands clench at her sides when the frost covering the grass thickens and rises into icy spikes as high as their knees. None of them seem to be meant to hit Mattias or Hugo, but they do the job of further separating the soldiers from the two girls.

Elsa turns to them and asks, "Why is my friend hurt?"

"She --" Hugo starts, but Mattias shuts him up with the simple raise of a hand.

"It was an unfortunate accident, Princess," Mattias takes over. "There was a dispute over the reindeer. Please undetstand. We have no intention of hurting any of the Northuldra. Neither do we want to take their animals."

That catches Hugo's attention. "But, Lieutenant! What about Elen?" Hugo hisses into Mattias' ear, but he's still loud enough for Maren to catch his words. "She isn't getting any better and she needs something to eat."

"And we _will_ get something for her," Mattias tightly replies. "But Elen won't appreciate doing so at the expense of others. Much less to hurt a child over it." With finality in his tone, he adds, "Resources have been scarce, but not so much that we'll fight over it. We've done more than enough of that already."

Hugo's face twists into something akin to shame at Mattias' words. He picks up his sword and shield, taking a good long look at the blood coating the tip of the former's blade. When he raises it, Elsa tenses with an arm prepped to shield Maren, but his sword only slashes through the rope holding up the net trapping the reindeer. 

"I apologize," Hugo humbly tells Maren. "I shouldn't have used my sword on you." His head tilts. "Even if you did attack first."

Elsa's head snaps to her. "You did what now?"

Maren only sheepishly looks away.

"We could patch up your wound, but I'm sure you won't want to come to our camp," Mattias says. "So go home quickly and get that treated soon." He smiles to add humor to the situation. "I don't want your aunt to hate me any more than she already does."

"What in the world were you thinking?" Elsa hisses as she fusses over Maren. Even the reindeer is at her side, sniffing her hat as if it were concerned as well. Elsa holds Maren's face in her hands again. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No, I, uh..." For a second, Maren preens at the attention Elsa is giving her. But then she sees Mattias and Hugo leaving over Elsa's shoulder. "Hey! Wait!"

The two soldiers pause and curiously look back at her.

"The woman you talked about... What's her illness?" Maren asks.

"Stomach flu," Mattias answers. "And her fever's pretty high."

Maren tries to recall what her father did when Ryder once got a fever. "You should try finding some mugwort leaves and boil them into a tea. It'll help."

Mattias' expression turns incredibly soft. Maren looks away.

"Thank you," Mattias says before finally leaving with Hugo.

"That was very kind of you," Elsa remarks as she watches Maren pick up Giste's broken staff. 

Maren shrugs, then regrets it when the movement causes another painful sting. "Just because I don't like them doesn't mean I want them to die."

Maren leads the reindeer as they head back to the field. When she still feels Elsa's gaze on her, she looks back questioningly.

"Why did you attack the soldier, Maren?" Elsa asks. Her tone doesn't sound accusing. She's only trying to make sense of what happened.

Maren blinks. Now that the encounter is done and over with, Maren is finding it difficult to understand her actions in hindsight. She isn't usually one to initiate conflict, or escalate it.

"I... I just got so mad. I knew I didn't like them, with all the stories I've heard. But when I saw that soldier, I just felt so angry. I didn't want to let them take any more from us, even if it was just one reindeer."

Sadness casts shadows over Elsa's eyes. "I'm sorry. Arendelle has hurt you so much. You're right to hate us."

Maren frowns. "I don't hate all of Arendelle." She takes Elsa's hand. It no longer feels right to walk with Elsa without their hands linked. "I don't hate you."

Elsa's smile fails to hide her sadness, but the squeeze she gives Maren's hand is almost enough reassurance. "Let's hurry. You have to get home. Ryder is already worried."

Maren's face falls when realization dawns on her. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

"Yelena is going to be _so_ mad."

**** **** **** ****

Yelena is _furious_ , actually. 

"Reckless. _Foolish_. What were you thinking, child? No. You weren't thinking, were you?"

Maren thought Yelena would be worn down by now after scolding Giste for what happened under her watch, but her aunt turns out to be a bottomless well of lectures tonight. 

"I want you to swear to me, Maren. Swear you'll never do that again."

Maren stares at the orange light of the fire in front of her. It's too warm. She misses the comfort of Elsa's cool hand.

"No," she says. This response surprises even Yelena whose eyes have widened to almost double their size. "I don't regret fighting for our tribe. I don't regret fighting for what's ours."

Yelena's anger melts into something else. She sighs heavily as she pinches the bridge of her nose and grumbles something about reflections. A moment later, Yelena is sitting on the log beside Maren.

"It was one reindeer. Just one. It wasn't worth the conflict, child."

Maren shakes her head. "But it's not just one reindeer. So many reindeers don't survive because the Forest is sick. Arendelle messed up our home. The spirits don't even show themselves anymore. You've done your best to keep our tribe alive. You've been so tired. I just... I wanted to do what I can, too. I didn't want them to take any more."

Maren is surprised when Yelena pulls her to her side. Her aunt is so gentle, so careful of not agitating her bandaged wound.

"Maren. There are plenty of ways to 'fight'. Words would have done as well as actions. And you wouldn't have been hurt."

"Right. Like that soldier would listen to a kid like me."

Yelena snorts, and Maren stares in awe. She's never made her aunt laugh in any way before.

When Yelena sobers back to her usual stoic and serious look, she says, "I failed my brother. I didn't care for him as well as I should have."

A different kind of pain settles in Maren's chest. The kind that can't be soothed, the kind that has left a scar that will always remind her of what she's lost. 

She rests her head against Yelena's chest. She's different, but she's what Maren has.

"I don't want to fail my niece and nephew as well," Yelena continues to say. Maren prepares herself for Yelena to tell her to give it up and keep herself safe. Maybe lock her in her goahti. But she really should have known better, because what Yelena says is, "So if you want to fight for the tribe, then you should properly train for it."

**** **** **** **** 

The next time she sees Elsa, she passes a message from Mattias that Elen has recovered and is immensely grateful.

Maren shrugs it off, but finds she really is relieved. 

"He said something else too," Elsa adds. "He said that he can see your resemblance to Yelena, and that he's a little bit scared of you because of it."

She isn't sure why, but Maren feels a surge of pride at hearing that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's the last one where they're kids :)
> 
> (Hope you guys aren't too antsy to get to the time skip. And that the pacing for this story isn't too weird)
> 
> EDIT:  
> I just realized i already said this last chapter lmao. Im sorry i really did plan for chapter 4 to be the time skip one, but plans changed. PROMISE next one is thd last kiddie chapter

**Author's Note:**

> So how is it?


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